1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the physical configuration of hand-held, electronic devices. In particular, the present invention relates to the physical configuration of hand-held, electronic devices capable of bi-directional, wireless data communication.
2. Background Information
Until now, hand-held, wireless devices have primarily been used for person-to-person communication by voice, transmitting and receiving voice data in real-time. These “mobile phone” devices have allowed users to go wherever they like and still be in touch with their friends and colleagues just as though they were using a wired phone at home or work. Communication by textual means, such as e-mail, has been performed almost exclusively over land-based copper and fiber optic phone lines, because the wireless communication networks have simply not had the capacity or capability to provide cost effective, wireless transmission of textual data. But recent advancements in wireless technology have made it possible to provide cost-effective data transfer over existing wireless networks.
The most common means of textual communication has been e-mail, but a relatively new form of messaging called “instant messaging” (IM) has caught on and has grown very rapidly in popularity in the last several years. Unlike e-mail which sits in an electronic mailbox until the user retrieves his or her e-mail messages, IM occurs nearly instantaneously, producing a notification and a dialog box on a user's screen alerting the user that they have an incoming message. In addition, users have the ability to know if the recipient is on-line and available to receive an IM message.
Many hand-held, wireless devices are beginning to provide access to e-mail, but their functionality is currently very limited. The user is usually limited to browsing, that is receiving and reviewing the information, not authoring and sending data. Much like retrieving voice messages from a voice mailbox, the user is only able to retrieve e-mail messages from their e-mail inbox. The primary reason for this is that authoring messages requires a convenient method of alphanumeric data entry. Users are hesitant or reluctant to enter a message if the data entry process is slow and difficult. This is a problem that conventional devices cannot properly address due to user interface limitations, i.e., the capabilities, design, and layout of the physical devices. While e-mail may require entry of a moderate length message in response to a received message, such data entry usually happens at a time the user deems appropriate and convenient, not at a time dictated by the sender of the message. This is very much like the user being able to periodically check voice messages in a voice mailbox, and respond at the user's convenience.
However, IM and other types of instantaneous textual and graphical communication are more real-time and intrusive than e-mail; the same way that an incoming phone call is more real-time and intrusive than checking voice messages. IM is a much more frequently accessed and used system than an e-mail client; therefore, IM requires a network and device that are much more convenient to use than an e-mail client. Such a level of convenience has been possible with wired connections and desktop computers. With traditional desktop computers, the computer is placed on or near the work surface and the display and keyboard are easily accessible. The user can immediately see incoming IM messages presented on the display, then respond to the IM messages using the keyboard. The user does not have to remove a device from the user's belt clip or pocket and open the device to see the IM message. Neither does the user have to then locate a work surface for support and connect a peripheral keyboard in order to compose a response.
There are a variety of devices available that are capable of providing wireless access to textual information, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's), hand-held computers, and two-way pagers, but the compromises in all of these designs limit their suitability as IM devices. For some of these devices, the displays are always visible and easy to see, but the device lacks an input device, has a small and inappropriate input device, has a slow and error prone method of data entry, or requires additional peripheral devices and a work surface for support. For other devices, a suitable input device is present, but the device transforms between multiple states which prevent the display from being seen in one of the states, limiting the convenience of using the device on a frequent basis.
Conventional wireless communication devices can be categorized into several distinct configurations: (1) mobile phones, commonly known as cellular phones; (2) personal digital assistants, commonly referred to as PDA's; (3) hand-held computers, commonly referred to as palmtop computers; and (4) two-way pagers.
The configuration of a mobile phone typically consists of: (1) a small display that is always visible; (2) a keypad for numeric data entry; and (3) an internal communication module that can transmit and receive analog and/or digitized voice data.
The mobile phone configuration has the following disadvantages: (1) the display is typically very small and inappropriate for display of large amounts of textual data, i.e., they are typically proportioned for one or two rows of phone numbers and proper names, not textual data in the structure of a written sentence; (2) the keypad is commonly located adjacent to the display, increasing the overall size of the unit; (3) on some units, the device has a clamshell design that obscures both the keypad and display when closed; (4) the keypad is typically a twelve-digit keypad designed for numeric data entry, although the keyboard usually supports alphanumeric character entry for the purpose of entering proper names into an address book maintained in the phone's memory, whereby the commonly used method of accessing alphanumeric characters is to switch the device into a text entry mode, then press a key repeatedly to access a particular one of a subset of characters available for each key, this method being extremely slow, awkward, error prone, and not appropriate for a device intended to transfer textual data on a regular basis; and (5) the communication module is typically engineered to support voice communication, and in only the latest device versions, limited retrieval of alphanumeric data.
The configuration of a PDA typically consists of: (1) a large display that is always visible; (2) a touch screen and stylus for data entry; (3) no keyboard for data entry; and (4) no internal communication module.
The PDA configuration has the following disadvantages: (1) the device has no keyboard, so alphanumeric data entry is usually performed in one of two ways: (a) the user taps with a hand-held stylus on a “soft” keyboard that is drawn on the display, or (b) the user writes on screen with a hand-held stylus and the processor converts the user's writing into text data; (2) an optional detachable keyboard may be available, but the keyboard usually requires a flat surface for support during use as it is tethered to the device by a cable or attaches in such a way that it will easily become detached if tilted, thus making the keyboard extremely awkward for use in one hand while on the move; and (5) the device lacks a communication module, although modules may sometimes be added, but at the expense of consuming the port available for connecting the optional keyboard to.
The configuration of a palmtop computer typically consists of: (1) a large display screen; (2) a complete keyboard; (3) a clamshell design where the display closes over the keyboard, or a flat layout where the display is located adjacent to the display; and (4) no internal communication module.
The palmtop configuration has the following disadvantages: (1) although the clamshell design affords protection to the display and keyboard when the device is closed, the clamshell design often renders the display non-visible when the device is closed, and is not adequate for frequent presentation of information to a user on the move; and (2) the relatively large size makes the device prohibitive for use as an IM device, because when a large display and keyboard are present, the device becomes inconvenient for the user to carry on a regular basis, resulting in the usability of the display and keyboard being greatly reduced.
The configuration of a two-way pager typically consists of: (1) a small display screen; (2) a small, complete keyboard; and (3) a flat layout where the keyboard is located adjacent to the display, or clamshell design where the display folds over the keyboard when closed.
The two-way pager configuration has the following disadvantages: (1) units with a flat layout have displays that are always visible, but to keep the overall device size down, the display and keyboard are reduced to minuscule dimensions which greatly reduces their usability; and (2) units with a clamshell design, render the display non-visible when the unit is closed, adding inconvenience when the user must look at the display.
The distinction between each category of devices is blurring daily, but a trend is very evident in all the previously mentioned devices. The devices are either: (1) designed primarily for voice communication and have limited alphanumeric entry capability, or a capability that is not suited to use in your hands while on the move; or (2) designed primarily for occasional retrieval and display of textual information and have a design that is very inconvenient for frequent input and viewing of data while on the move.
Some of these concepts are embodied in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 416,256 issued to Griffin et al. which discloses a hand-held messaging device with keyboard; U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,478 issued to Kumar et al. which discloses a portable computing device having an adjustable hinge; U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,257 issued to Kumar et al. which discloses a combination keyboard and cover for a hand-held computer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,760 issued to Coulon et al. which discloses a compact foldable keyboard; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,408 issued to Kang et al. which discloses a dual orientation display hand-held computer. These devices either have fixed keyboards or use folding clamshell designs. As such, they are not good choices for IM and other types of instantaneous textual and graphical communication.
Although the devices, designs, and physical configurations discussed above represent great strides in the area of physical configuration of hand-held communication devices, many shortcomings remain.